Have Spacesuit, Will Travel

Moved to Xanga

2005-11-11T14:45:00.000-06:00

Well, I've decided to pick this blogging thing up again, so call this a bread-crumb trail for anybody trying to look me up these days.

Even A Geek Needs A Breather

2005-08-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

I can really identify with this article. I spend 8 hours a day dealing with technology and everybody else's problems. By the time 5:00 rolls around, I'm ready to set my computer on fire. Maybe I'll come out of it in a few weeks and get back to business as usual.

Trinity and the Immaculate Conception

2005-07-05T21:48:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer:Believe it or not, this post has nothing to do with religion, but the same old irreverence applies.

That being said, I'm going to tell you about a little 4th of July miracle that happened in this house.

It all started when we adopted a 3-legged cat. What POSSIBLE use could one contrive for Hopalong Kitty? I guess she's more useful than a robot cat, but I guess she would be a good candidate for a cyborg kitty. Her given name was Elvira (lame) but we decided to re-name her Trinity on account of the three legs.

We figured out she was pregnant about a week ago. All the telltale signs had me putting my fingers in my ears and screaming "LALALALALALLALALALALALALALALA!" but no amount of denial or fear of babies would stop what was already occuring. What was MORE odd was that she has not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES been exposed to a male cat while in our care. We were even told when we got her a couple of months ago that she was fixed. That left me with two possible conclusions:

A)She was already pregnant when we got her.
B)Immaculate conception

Fuck. Not only did we have NO NEED to add another cat to our already happy and well-adjusted two-cat family (females), but now we have the god-damned Virgin Mary to deal with. Not only that, but I have pedophobia (not to be confused with pedophilia), human or otherwise. Luckily, there's a 4-step hypnosis program that should take care of my fear of kittens. None of my childhood pets were allowed to give birth...they were fixed as soon as they were old enough.

This was a responsible decision on the part of my parents, but definitely not good for my development. I even managed to be absent the day they showed The Miracle of Life in Health class. I have terribly retarded mental development when it comes to children, much to the confusion and dismay of my wife.

Trinity went into labor on the 4th of July. Thankfully we had no plans and were home all day, so we got to be in on the whole process. Trinity had 5 kittens, one of them didn't make it, so the official head count was 4. She's been a caring, loving mother and we're certain the kittens are going to be well-fed and healthy.

We've decided to keep one and name it Jesus.

I don't know that it's really sunk in or that this crash course in birthing will prepare me in any way for children or that Trinity's Immaculate Conception has bolstered a belief in any diety, but it didn't hurt.

Introducing Gundam Prototype Unit 3 (GP03)

2005-06-20T21:40:00.000-05:00

So I bought a motorcycle. Here are some thoughts after my first week and a half of riding:

The Ninja 250R is a very capable bike. I have no comparison at present, this is just my opinion on the everyday usefulness (and pleasure) of riding. I've commuted down quiet small-town streets and endured rush-hour traffic, increasing my familiarity with the basic controls and control input combinations in less-than-friendly conditions. I've nearly been creamed by a "cager" (car-driver) on two occasions. I've swept down country 2-lane and got to experience the bike's managability at speed. I've "got my lean on" with seductive local twisty roads and grown to appreciate the physics at work when one is riding on two wheels...countersteering, throttle discipline, looking ahead to what's around the bend, and shifting one's weight and putting Sir Isaac Newton in the driver's seat.

Curiously, as the word gets out I have a bike, the frequency at which I am present when a distant relative's plumber's girlfriend's hairdresser's brother's recent motorcycle accident is discussed has increased tremendously. Then there's the uneasy glances where your comrades contemplate your early demise and you KNOW they're doing it. Then when you start asking questions, like "Were they drinking?" or "Were they wearing a helmet?" or "How long had they been riding and what were they on?" are met with blank stares. What do they expect? A sudden conversion, some kind of grim realization that if I bite it I'll be served up at the Roadkill Cafe, Soilent Squid-style? Yeah, I think about it. Yeah, I know the odds aren't in my favor. So? Now when someone starts in with a story I ask if it involves an accident. Then I promptly tell them to shut the hell up.

I control what facets are under my control and don't worry about the rest. As usual, there's a Heinlein quote for every occasion, and I find myself repeating this one often:

Pessimist by policy, optimist by temperament - it is possible to be both. How? By never taking an unnecessary chance and by minimizing risks you can't avoid. This permits you to play out the game happily, untroubled by the certainty of the outcome.
--Lazarus Long

Riding a motorcycle is partly counter-intuitive. One does not want to grab the front brake in a panic stop because you'll likely lose steering control and/or drop the bike on its side. One does not want to lock the rear brake in a stop because it'll fishtail, or worse, if you LET OFF the rear brake in a lock-up your rear wheel will gain immediate traction while not in line with the front wheel and the rider will be catapulted over the handlebars in true Medieval crossbow fashion with expected results. NOT accelerating DURING A COMPLETE TURN will cause the bike to become unstable or worse, not turn, and you become a permanent fixture in the form of a tiny cross (or whatever athiests do instead) by the roadside to mark (quite unnecessarily) the crater you created on impact. The oddest thing is the way the wind tugs at your helmet at speed...that's gotta be the most disorienting thing about riding fast. Serious contemplation of the physics involved is mandatory, if you're an over-analytical geek like me.

But I try not to think about it. :)

Motorcycling isn't THAT difficult to do. If you can play video games, you can acclimate yourself to a new set of controls. It's difficult to do WELL. A trained monkey can twist a throttle. A good rider is one that carefully weighs risks, can stay within their skill level with respect to the bikes they ride and the way they ride them, can recognize the difference between what the bike's capabilities are and what the RIDER'S capabilities are, knows how to not put anyone at unnecessary risk, and can avoid getting caught by local law enforcement when they want to push the envelope.

This entire past week has been a very Zen experience, especially out on the country 2-lanes by myself. Riding with my buddy Jon is fun, but nothing beats the experience of riding alone. Pre-ride jitters are growing less intense. I'm starting to get my braking distances down. Shifting has become smoother. The initial uneasiness is starting to pass.

I can't wait til next weekend.

Adam's Law

2005-06-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

My friend Adam, whose birthday was fucked up by the notorious Osama Bin Laden, informed me of a new sociological law he discovered while on jury duty.

Most of us know the world is full of morons, doofuses, and idiots. When ten out of twelve of the people on the jury (which is supposed to be a random sample of people in our area) turned out to be complete morons, Adam did the math. 10/12 = 87.5%

I've always known the percentage of morons in a given area was high, but now I have mathematical proof to support my claims. Now that science has given us an answer, Adam's Law is as follows: "87.5% of the world's population are complete fucking morons."

That is all. Isn't science fun?!

Disclaimer: Present company excluded. :)

Adam's Birthday

2005-06-09T16:08:00.000-05:00

Since Adam is now a famous scientist, I figured I'd let him tell his own story about his birthday:

My biggest fear regarding my birthday after the destruction of the World Trade Towers was the kind of attitude that other people would display on the anniversary(s) of such a tragic event. I don't want to sound like the most self-centered person alive or anything, but I was ultimately more concerned with whether people would be receptive to having a good time on my birthday than I was with any of the loss of life, scarring of a national psyche, or any of that kind of stuff. September 11 was my birthday for over two decades before it became famous for anything else. Since I'm one of the most unpatriotic people that I know I was much more interested in how people's perceptions of that date would affect their willingness to celebrate the date of my birth than anything else.

In hindsight, my fears have been largely unfounded. Television, radio, internet, and various forms of print media have all done their part to relive the horrific aspects of terrorism in the name of ratings/subscriptions, but I've found that the people that I come into contact with on a regular basis are far less fixated on remaining sorrowfull than they are with getting on with their lives. By avoiding major media outlets on my birthday I've been able to enjoy them, in large part because of the fact that people (or at least people that I know) DON'T sulk about the significance of the date to excess.

If nothing else the tragedy of September 11, 2001 has shown me that people are more positive in nature and more able to move on after terrible events than my sometimes pessimistic view of humanity would have allowed for.

Submitted by: Adam

Techincal difficulties?!

2005-05-26T09:54:00.000-05:00

Test

A Reply To A Dear Friend

2005-05-12T20:13:00.000-05:00

...even if that friend exists (to me) only in electronic form:

My original post over at Homer's Brain after learning that Homer was dropping out (?) of the blogging game:

I'm in the same predicament--too much going on in real life, and nobody to share my rambling thoughts with.

I've taken up a real fatalist view on life recently. I've scoured the Internet looking for like-minded individuals, but I must have a fairly unique (and not necessarily in a good way) collection of views, because they're not out there. Redeeming in a way, yet disappointing in another.

Even following historical and religious topics hasn't been as much fun. It seems to me a "Middle Way", to borrow a Buddhist term, is out there. It's right in front of our faces, but we keep making the same mistakes over and over again; the same prejudices, the same biases. Nobody is really looking to improve their point of view through reading and education, it's more like they're just looking for ways to prop up their preconceived notions about the world.

The shouting match between the two political parties leaves no room for intellectuals and moderates. The people that really shine are the puppets who froth at the mouth while parroting the party's talking points. It's pointless to pick a side because as soon as you align yourself with one party, your singular voice (of reason?) is drowned out by the vicious demonization of the other side.

I am equally disgusted by it and have resolved to blog only very infrequently if at all. Some bloggers try and fool themselves by saying "I'm only doing it for myself--it's my creative outlet" which may be true for a few, but the majority want to be heard, their ideas debated and analyzed for the entertainment of both author and reader alike. So if you're not being read, what's the point, where's the motivation?

On a lighter note, life is good on the home front. I'm settling into my mid-twenties quite well, chasing that dollar and finding comfort in things familiar. However, I'm going to do something supremely irresponsible--I'm going to sell my car and buy a motorcycle before I get too old to be totally irrational.

I wish you and your family the best in your journey, Homer. It was fun getting to know you. Maybe by 2008 we'll both be ready to come out of semi-retirement for the election season.

Sincerely,
Justin

------------------------

Friend's original email (not Homer, another guy):

I have to say that I read the latest entry over at Homer's Brain and was saddened by your comments. Not that I don't agree with them but only because it seemed as though you were defeated or just really exhausted. (perhaps it was the context which I read) I'd like to think that you and I agree more than we disagree on most issues but you are right we are only two voices in a sea of fox/ NBC regurgitation. You are right that people don't want to change their point of view or better themselves when regarding their political views. Even if you and they both know that you research the facts and they base everything on what Rush or Dan Rather tell them to believe. I've recently moved to Chicago and the libs up here are as bad as the rePubs back in OK. I try to maintain my polite behavior, as you would have it but on a couple of occasions, I have become highly agressive in some conversations. What's worse is the fact that they are family... I'm to the point when someone tries to start a political conversation I ask them if they can name 5 (just 5 either side of the aisle) senators. If they can not, I politely tell them that my therapist said I can't have political conversations. It saves me the rage when dealing with the proles...

Keep in touch buddy! Stay safe on the moto bike!

----------------------

And my response:

I think Homer's announcement that he was leaving just caught me on a bad day. I hear he's guest-blogging over at Jake McKee's site on occasion now, so you may see me trolling around there in the near future. I must confess I re-read my statements over at homersbrain and found I still agreed with the jist of what I was talking about. Taking that quiz over at Cam's site kinda brought it back--apparently according to Farrah's quiz she posted, I'm a "Disaffected". I still think the majority of what it said was BS, but the part about being cynical (perhaps overly so) and the fact that Disaffecteds make up only about 10% of the voting population rang true. It's easy to be that way when you see REAL problems out there and REAL people suffering while our elected representatives bicker over only the most irrevalant of topics. I've been reminded too often recently of the wisdom in the writings of Mr. Samuel Langhorn Clements---now THAT guy was a cynic.

I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.
- Mark Twain in Eruption

Classes are over at the college (20th Century Asia this past semester was a rea eye-opener) and I've taken up my summer reading list. I've already devoured the first two books of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series: The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three, which is Mr. King's ode to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings saga. I'm going to finish the other 4 books and pick up Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot, which I've already heard in truncated Audiobook form. No other writings, religious texts, or great secrets have inspired me to have faith (GASP!) the human race will indeed surpass this technological adolescense and overcome the barriers inherent in getting off this rock like Pale Blue Dot has. It's a brief history of the struggles of the human race, the effect of religious doctrine in the age of reason, and the difficulties and rewards of taking that One Giant Leap For Mankind. Also, if I can get around to it, I'm going to pick up Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race before Fall semester starts.

I agree that we see eye-to-eye on more topics than we differ. It's one reason why I've felt compelled to keep up with your doings and try to stay in touch. I noticed you dropped off the radar there for a while, too, no doubt due to your recent uprooting. It pleases me immensely to know you are both alive and well, even if it is smack dab in the middle of Liberalsville on the corner of Gunless St. and Overpopulated Ave. I can relate to the holding your tongue in polite conversation: A space-cadet gun-toting atheistic Social Darwinist doesn't integrate well into East Texas society, either. Best of luck to you on that front.

On a more personal note, I've sold my Prelude :( I cared for that car more than any other machine I've ever owned to present date. The hunt is on now for a motorcycle that suits my beginner's needs (no 1300cc sportbikes for me right now, thank you). I ordered riding gear (helmet, gloves, armored jacket, and boots) just yesterday, and am signed up for a Motorcycle Safety Foundation class at the end of this month. Maybe with the extra precautions I can beat the odds that are stacked against me as a new rider. I happen to consider myself a SUPERB cage (bike community slang for automobile) driver, and once I get a two-wheeled machine I can call my own, I know I'll integrate my mind with its controls as well as I did my dearly-missed Honda. It'll be a great adventure, indeed.

As my melodramatic writings (and short email novels) often do, I'll wish you long days and pleasant nights and leave you with one of the more memorable quotes from The Gunslinger:

God pisses down the back of your neck everyday, but he only drowns you once.

Take care,
Justin

The New Pope!

2005-04-19T14:28:00.000-05:00

(feigning shock and elation) Awesome. We've traded King Cocks of the most corrupt, worthless international pyramid scheme of anti-scientific powermongers bent on the continual subjugation of mankind to a make-believe Sky Fairy whose manners and ideals no better than yours or mine.

I'll save my little dance for when we quit believing some old fart with a magic pointy hat is the conduit to the wisdom of the universe.

*sigh*

---
UPDATE:

I'm just saying if someone's going to call an entity God he ought to be somebody worth looking up to, not someone who throws hissy fits and destroys stuff when he (sorry, He) gets mad. Or contradicts himself literally and philosophically at every turn.

I don't know how we got here, and nobody else does, either, so why make up such a dumb story as Creation (which is really a variation on several other earlier pagan creation stories)? At least evolution makes decent sense at an intellectual level, and has the least number of unfounded assumptions. If there is a God, he would have done it way cooler, like, with lazers and robots anyway.

When you die, that's it--whether you believe God flicked a booger and created the world or cosmic dust bunnies humped each other in space...you still die. You don't climb up Heaven's Chimney or drink from the Razzleberry Fountain In The Sky. These are man-made constructs of our subconscious because we don't want to confront death. Religion's a poor coping mechanism at best, and an unrestrained inflicter of misery and poverty at worst.

...hence the and-don't-even-get-me-started-about-some-guy-who-is-now-god's-infallable-representative-on-earth-not-by-a-booming-voice-from-the-sky-but-democratically-elected-by-a-bunch-of-other-morons tone in the post earlier...but then if you're reading this, you probably expected that.

Man Controls Artificial Limb By Thought Alone

2005-03-31T15:37:00.000-06:00

Need I say more?

Bring on the Robots!

Bring on the techno music!

Viva la revolucion!

Social Security

2005-03-09T18:18:00.000-06:00

I've been listening to Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot on audiobook again. The first couple of chapters are a short history lesson on the creation of the Earth, how man spread to the various continents, and the continual evolution of the way man viewes the cosmos in total. Religious implications included. :)

(give or take)

The Universe is 15,000,000,000 years old,
the Earth is 5,000,000,000 years old,
humans have been around 2,000,000 years,
we only have about 7,000 years of "recorded" history,
electricity was discovered 250 years ago,

and I'm probably going to live about 77 years.

In the midst of all the partisan debate I hear about Social Security, I had a thought today: The reason we're having trouble with the Social Security program is because we have a larger older population. People are evolving and bending both nature and machinery to our will in order to live longer.

And that's fucking great.

Jury Selected in Mel Gibson Stalking Case

2005-03-03T16:43:00.000-06:00

Hey, you make a movie stirring up the religious nutcases and you get pissed when someone wants to spend all their time praying with you like you're some kind of prophet?

You brought it on yourself, buddy.

Radio Communication From Space

2005-03-03T16:42:00.000-06:00

Scientists are not sure about this one. But the properties of the transmission are certainly outside of the norm. One can hope, right? ^_^

Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot

2005-02-24T10:22:00.000-06:00

I've been listening to Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot on audiobook while I'm doing data entry at work. One passage on religion struck me as great writing and I thought I'd share it with you:

This is the anguished cry of the infant when the parent does not come, but most people eventually come to grips with reality and with the painful absence of parents who will absolutely guarantee that no harm befalls the little ones so long as they do what they are told. Eventually, most people find ways to accomodate the universe, especially when given the tools to think straight. All that we pass on to our children in the scientific age, Appleyard complains, "is the conviction that nothing is true, final, or enduring, including the culture from which they sprang."

How right he is about the inadequacy of our legacy. But would it be enriched by adding baseless certainties? He scorns, "the pious hope that science and religion are independent realms which can easily be separated." Instead, he says, "science as it is now is absolutely not compatible with religion." But isn't Appleyard really saying that some religions now find it difficult to make unchallenged pronouncements on the nature of the world that are straight-out false?

We recognize that even revered religious leaders, the products of their time as we are of ours, may have made mistakes. Religions contradict one another on small matters such as whether we should put on a hat or take one off on entering a house of worship or whether we should eat beef and eschew pork, or the other way around; all the way to the most central issues such as whether there are no gods, one god or many gods.

Science has brought many of us to that state in which Nathaniel Hawthorne found Hermann Melville--"He can neither believe," Hawthorne said, "nor be comfortable in his unbelief." Or Zhazha Guso [sp ???], "they had not persuaded me, but they had troubled me. Their arguments had shaken me without ever convincing me. It is hard to prevent oneself from believing what one so keenly desires."

Great stuff. I think the first book I pick up this summer will be something by Mr. Sagan.

The Gospel of Thomas (or: An Uncommonly Non-skeptical Post On Religion)

2005-02-07T10:58:00.000-06:00

I watched one of the coolest shows on the History Channel last night when I should have been sleeping. It was about who wrote the Christian Bible, when they were written, and when they became part of the biblical canon or when they were omitted.

Being the skeptic I am, I've always found a certain kinship with Thomas, one of the twelve who vocally doubted Jesus' return and didn't believe when he was revealed to him. According to the story, it took Thomas placing his fingers in the holes in Jesus' hands before he believed.

I was surprised to hear ol' Thomas wrote one of them-thar books himself. Can't find it in your Bible?...there's a reason for that--it was omitted from the biblical canon a long, long time ago. Apparently the only tome that contains it is an Egyptian text complied by the Gnostic sect some 1500 or so years ago.

So I "aked the Robot" [looked it up on the Internet-it's all out there] and found the Gospel of Thomas. It's oddly cryptic at best, hard to follow, and incomplete, though it states some things Jesus supposedly said that other texts do not contain and includes others stated in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-more easily recognized texts we all know that lends an air of legitimacy and consistency. There's a lot of really simple, brutally honest wisdom contained therein. Think Mark Twain writing a book of the Bible.

Some of the quotes, generally called the 114 "sayings" rather than documented as books and verses, are pretty cool. My favorites [any commentary I make will be in brackets and be preceeded with a "MSPX"]:

-----
21: For this reason I say, if the owners of a house know that a thief is coming, they will be on guard before the thief arrives and will not let the thief break into their house (their domain) and steal their possessions.

As for you, then, be on guard against the world. Prepare yourselves with great strength, so the robbers can't find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect will come. [MSPX: Watch your six! Carry a big stick! And, in the debate over whether deadly force is warranted to protect property, God comes down on the side of the shooter.]

42: Jesus said, "Be passersby." [MSPX: Don't attract attention to yourself--walk softly...]

35: Jesus said, "One can't enter a strong person's house and take it by force without tying his hands. Then one can loot his house." [MSPX: Uh...from my cold, dead hands? :)]

47: Jesus said, "A person cannot mount two horses or bend two bows." [MSPX: IOW, loan your buddy an extra gun when the SHTF. At least that's what it says to me.]

32: Jesus said, "A city built on a high hill and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden." [MSPX: Jesus' commentary on open versus concealed carry. :)]

60: ...He said to them, "So also with you, seek for yourselves a place for rest, or you might become a carcass and be eaten." [MSPX: GET SOME SLEEP! Or you may get whacked when you're sleepy and unaware.]
-----

Some others I found interesting:

-----
3: Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you.

When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty." [MSPX: Very Buddhist in flavor--the whole "the answer {God, salvation, truth, whatever} is within you" thing.]

113: His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?"

"It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, 'Look, here!' or 'Look, there!' Rather, the Father's kingdom is spread out upon the earth, and people don't see it."

17: Jesus said, "I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart."

18: The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us, how will our end come?"

Jesus said, "Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is.

Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death." [MSPX: Another couple of verses oddly Zen in flavor.]

14: "...what goes into your mouth will not defile you; rather, it's what comes out of your mouth that will defile you." [MSPX: I think this is talking about how silly strict Jewish dietary laws are]

16: Jesus said, "Perhaps people think that I have come to casy [sic] peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war. [MSPX: Maybe the anti-religious have a point here about religion causing more harm than it resolves...according to Thomas, Jesus just said so in so many words]

22: Jesus said to them, "When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]." [MSPX: Yin-yang. Two parts of a whole. Cause and effect cycles that are unendingly repetitive. Is this suggesting when we are able to create and improve on the human form, we will become God?]

28: Jesus said, "I took my stand in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty. My soul ached for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty.

But meanwhile they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, then they will change their ways." [MSPX: Monks in any religion say chasing material things and pleasures of the flesh will get you nowhere. Oh, and drunk and stupid are no way to go through life. :)]

34: Jesus said, "If a blind person leads a bind person, both of them will fall into a hole." [MSPX: Hehe.]

37: His disciples said, "When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?"

Jesus said, "When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your clothes and put them under your feet like little children and trample then, then [you] will see the son of the living one and you will not be afraid." [MSPX: Is Jesus encouraging us to get nekkid?]

49: Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who are alone and chosen, for you will find the kingdom. For you have come from it, and you will return there again." [MSPX: Reincarnation?]

70: Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you [will] kill you."

72: A [person said] to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with me."

He said to the person, "Mister, who made me a divider?"

He turned to his disciples and said to them, "I'm not a divider, am I?" [MSPX: Jesus--the original "Uniter, not a Divider"]

81: Jesus said, "Let one who has become wealthy reign, and let one who has power renounce." [MSPX: Jesus was decidedly a capitalist.]

110 Jesus said, "Let one who has found the world, and has become wealthy, renounce the world." [MSPX: Or not.]

103: Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who know where the rebels are going to attack. [They] can get going, collect their imperial resources, and be prepared before the rebels arrive." [MSPX: Jesus apparently knew all about terrorists.]
-----

So there, I saved you from having to read ALL of it. :)

All in all, Thomas delves into the duality of man and the environment itself. Some of the sayings have a definite Buddhist flavor to them, though I doubt they were inspired by any of the Buddha's teachings. Not because they didn't preceed the writings of Thomas, but because it's doubtful anyone in the Middle East had exposure to Asian writings in that era...it wasn't exactly the Information Age.

All in all, I've come to the conclusion that the Bible, if taken at face value as a text compiled by dozens of authors with ideas likely borrowed from both Jewish and Pagan stories, translated an inordinate number of times, and having gone through the many rigors canonization of a religious text is prone to, it's still a good story. It's kind of a shame the majority of Christians haven't had exposure to texts contained in the Catholic bible and the so-called Apocrypha. Odd as some of the verses may be, I think some of it might be useful to people of faith.

Burnout has set in...

2005-02-03T15:39:00.000-06:00

so I'm going to take a couple of weeks off blogging. Later!

Michael Newdow Is At It Again...

2005-01-21T11:21:00.000-06:00

and I, for one, salute him. All the fundies want to make such a stink about him trying to take away peoples' religious freedom, or make the US an athiest nation, but I see it differently.

Michael Newdow just wants things to be neutral. He's probably the greatest fighter for religious NEUTRALITY and FREEDOM in recent years. He just wants government to govern and stay out of the religion business. I always like to note how religious fundamentalist governments have done SO well, like Iran or Afghanistan, or how about the local government in Massachusetts in the 1600s.

Fundies can say that, "Oh, an Islamic prayer at a president's inaguration would be just fine" because they know they'll probably NEVER live to see it themselves. It's like making a bet with someone that they can't throw a rock and hit a pin 100 ft. away. They can afford to talk big about how "tolerant" they are because they know they'll never get called on their bluff.

People say this country was founded on religious principles, which with I agree only in part. There are a great many laws stated in the Christian bible that are natural laws anyways and shouldn't require religious faith to recognize their validity. However, the illogical argument that the religiously oppressed in Europe came to America to set up an equally oppressive religion-driven government is ridiculous.

My thanks to you, Michael Newdow, for fighting for the real principles this great nation was founded upon.

Rusti, if you're out there in cyberspace...

2005-01-21T10:19:00.000-06:00

This is a great article written by Janis Cortese about the basics of handguns, calibers, and self-defense. It'll get you up to date on terminology, too. This will give you a good primer to work from when choosing your first handgun, and since it's written from a woman's perspective probably easier to understand versus my ramblings (though I can probably answer most questions you have as well, just not as succinctly).

If you want to look at some guns and get an idea on price, check out GunBroker.com and AuctionArms.com.

As you probably already know, I have several guns and would be glad to take you to the range to try some out whenever you get a weekend day off. Nothing puts a smile on my face like introducing new people to the world of firearms and personal responsibility!

Nuke Alert

2005-01-20T13:38:00.000-06:00

...no, not NOW. Unlock the two-ton steel door and quit salivating over the dog. You've only been in that bunker an hour.

Does anybody REALLY think a geiger counter keychain is going to save them from a nuclear disaster? The only warning you're going to get in a nuclear attack is a sunburn worse than an hour-long session in a tanning bed in about 2 seconds unless you're wearing SPF 1000.

Capitalism, fear-mongering, and fuzzy logic at its best.

My Best To You, Comrades.

2005-01-20T11:40:00.000-06:00

China is sending up its second manned space flight this year in September or October.

No real commentary here, just a "good on 'ya" to China for doing their part in helping mankind get off this rock.

For Me But Not For Thee

2005-01-20T11:31:00.000-06:00

Michael Moore's bodyguard was arrested in a NY airport for trying to declare a firearm at the counter.

Perhaps it would have been good to peruse NRA-ILA's New York laws page before entering a state that doesn't recognize his 2nd Amendment rights his employer has fought so hard against.

He could have even talked to the friendly people over at Packing.org and checked into their NY state page.

Maybe he'll get to ponder the irony of the situation at Rikers Island.

Airbus A380 Revealed as Largest Passenger Jet

2005-01-20T09:12:00.000-06:00

Just what we need; the fucking French helping to develop bigger planes to fly into our buildings.

With friends like these...

24 Usable Hours In Each Day

2005-01-19T11:04:00.000-06:00

A Ukrainian man hasn't slept in two decades. Medical doctors say there's nothing wrong with him.

I've got a solution:

Take some Ambien.
Read the CBS report on Rathergate.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

Text-to-Binary (and binary-to-text) Translator...

2005-01-13T15:53:00.000-06:00

...or rather:

01010100011001010111100001110100001011010111
01000110111100101101010000100110100101101
1100110000101110010011110010010000000101000011
000010110111001100100001000000110001001
1010010110111001100001011100100111100100101101
011101000110111100101101011101000110010
1011110000111010000101001001000000101010001110
010011000010110111001110011011011000110
0001011101000110111101110010

So I'm going to write a post in binary...

0101011101101000011110010010000001100
100011011110110010101110011011011100110000001110
10000100000011000010110111001111001011000
10011011110110010001111001001000000110001001
101111011101000110100001100101011100100010
0000011101000110111100100000011100000110111
1011100110111010000100000011000110110111101
101101011011010110010101101110011101000111
001100111111001000000010000001000001011011
0100100000010010010010000001110100011010000
110000101110100001000000110001001101111011
1001001101001011011100110011100101100001000
0001101111011100100010000001101001011100110
010000001101001011101000010000001110100011
011110110111100100000011011010111010101100
0110110100000100000011011110110011000100000
011000010010000001110000011000010110100101
1011100010000001101001011011100010000001110
1000110100001100101001000000110000101110011
011100110010000001110100011011110010000001
1001110110010101110100001000000110000100100
000011000100110110001101111011001110110011
101100101011100100010000001100001011000110
1100011011011110111010101101110011101000011
111100100000001000000100100100100000011011
0101100101011000010110111000101100001000000
110100101110100011000000111001100100000011
0011001110101011011100010000001110100011011
110010000001100100011011110010000001101010
0111010101110011011101000010000001100110011
0111101110010001000000110110101111001011100
110110010101101100011001100010000001100001
011011100110010000100000011000010110110001
1011000010110000100000011000100111010101110
100001000000100100100100000011011100110010
1011001010110010000100000011000100110000101
110100011101000110110001100101001000000111
0111011010010111010001101000001000000110010
101110110011010010110110000100000011000110
1110010011000010110001101101011001000000111
101001101111011011010110001001101001011001
0100100000011100100110111101100010011011110
111010000100000011011010110111101101110011
0101101101001011001010111001100100000001010
0001101001011011100010000001110000011011110
110110001101001011101000110010100100000011
1010001100101011110000111010000100000011000
110110111101101110011101100110010101110010
011100110110000101110100011010010110111101
1011100010100100100000011101000110111100100
0000111001001100101011000010110110001101100
011110010010000001100110011001010110010101
1011000010000001110011011000010111010001101
001011100110110011001101001011001010110010
000101110

...and leave it for you assholes to decode. Have fun!

Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Prince Harry?

2005-01-13T11:36:00.000-06:00

Prince Harry dressed up in a Nazi uniform for a costume party last weekend. It has Brits and Jews everywhere in an uproar. I could see the horrified looks if he dressed up like Hitler, Eichmann, Hess, or Himmler, but he was dressed as Gen. Rommel. Probably one of the least-controversial Nazi leaders. Seriously, though, it WAS probably in bad taste.

His brother William dressed up like a lion for the same party...But lions have killed probably many more people than the Nazis in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. I think it is Prince William who should apologize. Think of all the people throughout the millenia who have lost family members to those prowlers in the night. Be more sensitive, people!

Should nobody dress up like Ghengis Kahn or Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden, or any other mass-murdering fuckhead for a costume party? Should Christians be offended when people dress up in Roman togas? Aren't they all in bad taste?

Have Spacesuit, Will Travel: The Movie

2005-01-07T14:38:00.000-06:00

No, seriously. David Reynolds, of Finding Nemo fame, has been hired by Warner Brothers to do a screen adaptation of Robert Heinlein's book Have Spacesuit, Will Travel. I hope it's better than Starship Troopers, and the even more inaccurate and awful Starship Troopers 2. Maybe it had something to do with the fact Heinlein never wrote a sequel to ST.

Luckily titles aren't covered under US copyright laws. At least I don't think I'm going to be sued.

If I have to change the name, I'm thinking of The Rational Robot or Welcome The Machines, both refering to the coming Great Robot Wars.

By the way, don't expect any mercy.

But I'm getting ahead of myself....

The SS Has Seen Too Much Trigun

2005-01-06T16:56:00.000-06:00

Crosses are officially banned from Bush's inaguration parade.

If you've ever watched Trigun, you figure they might have a point.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood is one bad mamma-jamma.

Some Religious Humor

2005-01-05T13:52:00.000-06:00

A couple of jokes I picked up in the comments over at The Raving Atheist:

**1. A priest and a rabbi on a plane, discussing the various fine points of their respective faiths, the priest on celibacy and the rabbi on dietary laws, etc.

At one point the priest says to the rabbi: "Were you ever tempted to violate one of your tenets?"

Rabbi: "Yes. Once at the home of some gentiles, I found myself alone in the kitchen. There was a plate of ham sandwiches, so, with no one looking, I ate one. It wasn't bad, and nothing happened to me as a result. What about you? Ever violate a tenet of yours?"

Priest: "Yes. Once as a young man, I gave in to the desires of the flesh with a young woman."

Some time passes, and then the rabbi says: "Better than a ham sandwich, isn't it?"

**2. A priest, a rabbi, and a minister are on a boat with a troop of boy scouts. The boat springs a leak and starts to sink.

The rabbi cries, "Hurry, we must save the children!"

The minister snaps, "Fuck them."

The priest replies, "Do we have time?"

**3. A Priest, a Minister and a Rabbi from one city were taking a car ride to a conference on world religions. On the highway they were in an accident.

First the Priest steps out, makes the sign of the cross and says, "Oh, God, thank you for letting us survive."

Then the Minister crosses himself and says, "Thank you dear Lord for protecting us."

Finally the Rabbi steps out and likewise makes the sign of the cross. The Priest and Minister look at each other.

Baffled, the Minister says, "We thought you didn't believe in that."

To which the Rabbi responds, "Hell no, I was just checking to make sure I have everything -- spectacles, testicles, wallet, and watch!"

**4. An atheist dies and goes to hell. After suffering years of torment, he approaches the devil.

"Please, Satan, let me out of here! I'll do anything!"

The devil raises an eyebrow: "Anything?"

"Anything!!!"

"OK, follow me!" The devil leads the atheist into a little steaming cave, and shows him a 600-lb woman all covered in boils, pus and syphillitic sores.

"If make love to this woman, I'll let you out!"

The atheist gulps, closes his eyes, and using every inch of his willpower, finally manages to make love to the woman.

As the devil is leading him out of hell, the atheist notices another little cave, and there is Jerry Falwell, in the process of making love to two beautiful 21-year old blondes.

"What is this!" the atheist exclaims. "Why do I get the 600-lb woman covered in boils, and Jerry Falwell gets the two beatiful blondes?"

The devil calmly replies: "We've got some women that want out of here too, you know."

**5. Jesus and Peter are out fishing on the sea of galalee after the resurection, Peter suddenly exclaims "Shit! I left the beer cooler on the beach". "no problems Peter" said Jesus, "I'll go get it" and he confidently stands up and steps off the jon boat. Jesus sinks like a stone seconds later he comes back to the surface coughing and spluttering and Peter drags him back into the boat, Jesus recovers as Peter heads the boat back to the shore and says" Bastards! It worked perfectly well until they put these damn holes in my feet"

__________

I Know More History Than You

2005-01-04T11:07:00.000-06:00

So I was playing Call of Duty: Finest Hour the other day on PS2 and had a real problem. I was playing some of the British missions in North Africa (I had already completed the Russian missions at and around Stalingrad...TONS of fun, comrades) and kept getting creamed by this German tank. What the hell was I supposed to do? I and my team were on foot and all we had were light weapons and a couple of grenades.

So I swallowed my pride and got on the Internet.

...and the walk-through told me to use grenades.

Grenades? ON A PANZER TANK?! WTF?! Might as well be using spitballs.

Then I remember not everybody has seen every History Channel special on the weapons of the 3rd Reich. So I used the grenades, and to my astonishment the tank exploded. Then I laughed my ass off.

I knew I couldn't use grenades against a tank in real life, but the game didn't. It must have been the first time a geek has out-geeked game developers.

"What you must learn is that these rules are no different than the rules of a computer system. Some of them can be bent. Others can be broken. Understand?"

Tsunami Blues

2005-01-04T09:48:00.000-06:00

Have you turned on the TV lately? Every friggin 24-hour network is doing NOTHING but tsunami coverage. Before you get your panties in a wad, I'm not being callous towards the tens of thousands that have died in the Indian Ocean. I'm not saying we shouldn't be covering the developing relief crisis there.

All I'm saying is that the world hasn't stopped. There are important things going on in the world right now. Most leaders are going about the business of their countries pretty much as usual. Important decisions are being made, wars fought, speeches given, negotiations conducted, elections held, and we aren't hearing about any of it.

The media likes to beat a story to death (no pun intended) during their news cycles. I understand the gravity of the tsunami situation, but jesus christ! If you're only watching TV for your news, you've got a blackout on what's happening in the rest of the world.

Funny how ANYthing else could happen and most people would be completely oblivious.

Oh, south America was taken over by the Swedes? Kim Jong-Il and Eminem had a rap-off? Bush took over the known world? Well, no shit!? I was watching video of puddles and dead babies for the twentieth time today and they didn't say anything about it.

Have they fried our little brains with cathode ray tubes? Are the Internet and the blogosphere our only hope?

Viva la revolucion, indeed.

Radical Islam Isn't Our Only Problem

2005-01-04T09:21:00.000-06:00

It amazes me that people somehow equate all Muslims with jihadists and suicide bombers. This article is just one small example of the problems with radical Christianity. There are just as many religious nutcases in this country as there are over there. Of course since Westboro Baptist Church's website is www.godhatesfags.com, I'm not that surprised at the content. This guy actually calls Bush a "fag pimp". Here's a taste:

__________
BT [BlackTable]: Well, do you agree with what's going on [in Iraq]?

[Pastor] FRED [Phelps]: I agree it has to go on, but it doesn't reduce the evil and the animus of that insane little monster, Bush. I mean you've got a creature walking around with the mentality of a gnat with his hands on all that party.

BT: Had you ever met him when he was a governor of Texas?

FRED: No, but I don't know why. We've certainly been in his face enough, we went down twice to Crawford with signs saying he's a fag pimp and all we ever see is a whole gaggle of secret servicemen.
Laura Bush came here to Topeka because one of the leading proponents of same-sex marriage was one for her high school chum, named Marge Petty. She's the only member of the Kansas senate to vote for same-sex marriage -- that's Laura's bosom buddy. She's touted as the number one alumnus of Southern Methodist University and we've picketed them twice. That campus is fag infested, top to bottom, warp and woof.
__________

As much as I hear about us wanting Muslim clerics to denounce radical Islam, even more would I like to see Christians denouncing radical Christianity. Should be easy to do...their lives aren't at stake like the clerics in Iraq.

Ok, So I've Been Gone Awhile

2005-01-04T09:19:00.000-06:00

so sue me. Honestly, the holidays had me unplugged for a week or so. It's back to business today.

Ok, I Like Guns And All...

2004-12-22T16:51:00.000-06:00

But what is the purpose of this device? Who really needs a bracket to mount a PISTOL ON THE END OF A RIFLE?

Sounds like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, in my opinion.

Definitely the oddest gun accessory I've ever seen.

Texas Woman Fights Off Intruder With Poker

2004-12-22T15:33:00.000-06:00

Great story. A woman fought off an attacker in her home around 4AM with a fireplace poker. A shotgun would have worked better, and would have insured said attacker would not have repeated this behavior. People who will break into a person's home in the middle of the night WHILE THEY ARE ASLEEP aren't there for cookies and hot cocoa, much to the dismay of anti-gun pant-wetters.

What gets me is the police say it's better to NOT give any resistance. You may have noticed the man had time to flee the house and evade arrest before the police showed up. Even in areas with a good 911 response time, there's at least 5 minutes there where it's just you and the attacker. What are you supposed to do then? You could always use the SNiVeL method...

To quote Pvt. Frost in Aliens:
"What are we supposed to use, man? Harsh language?"

Oooh...and even better, Han Solo in Star Wars:
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."

Girl's Confederate Prom Dress

2004-12-22T14:56:00.000-06:00

How utterly ridiculous. I could see an uproar if she was wearing this shirt and claiming "free speech" but jesus christ! Many people have no concept of what the Civil War was really about. Everybody was taught in school that it was a war to free the slaves. Bullshit. It was a war over the states' rights to choose laws for themselves outside of an always-reaching-further federal government. It was the way the US had worked for the first hundred years, but a good many in the North believed a stronger federal government was needed. Many Southern, rural states and territories didn't agree.

Sound familiar?

Granted, some racists use the Confederate flag as a symbol of white supremacy, etc. with the ACLU and NAACP's help. We've all been brainwashed to equate it to the swastika. But a good many other educated people understand why the confederacy was formed and have respect of what the our ancestors were fighting for.

Me, I'm proud to be a Texan, a Southerner, and a decendant of a people wanting to fight against oppressive government. Racism has nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done.

The Reason For The Season

2004-12-21T14:49:00.000-06:00

Great short article talking about the Pagan roots of the Christmas holiday.

Happy Holidays, ya'll.

Not That I Believe It...

2004-12-15T11:55:00.000-06:00

...but in the interest of fairness, here's a story by an avowed atheist who had a near-death experience and found god.

Hollywood And MPAA Step Up Piracy Lawsuits

2004-12-15T09:47:00.000-06:00

Well, Hollywood and the MPAA is at it again. They're going after eDonkey and BitTorrent now. That just means file sharers will be switching to a new technology in short order.

This quote gets me:

"But Charles Sims, a New York lawyer who has represented entertainment companies in court cases against peer-to-peer networks, said Hollywood recognizes that litigation is not the panacea.

'The (lawsuit) route is not perfect, in the same way that the war against drugs isn't perfect either,' said Sims, a partner in Proskauer Rose. 'But there's probably less heroine and cocaine out there now than if we weren't doing anything.'"

...which we know is bullshit. Drugs have only gotten cheaper and more plentiful, as reported earlier:

Analysis: Study Shows US Losing Drug War

I applaud Hollywood's intestinal fortitute (or their infinitely deep pockets), but the genie's out of the bottle and only governmental regulation of the Internet will stop it now.

We're Trusting THESE Guys To Find Bin Laden?

2004-12-15T09:04:00.000-06:00

India is using PSYCHICS to help find Bin Laden these days.

And we wonder why he's still on the loose.

We're letting two-bit charlatans with delusions of grandeur lead us around like a bunch of idiots, though they are correlating this psychic data with satellite photos and reports from the ground. ::rolls eyes::

Attorney Hopes Texas Court Will Uphold Pastor's Rights

2004-12-14T14:12:00.000-06:00

...and those pastor's rights include "...a constitutional right to govern the churches as they see fit, and to deal with unrepentant sin as they deem the Bible tells them to deal with it -- and not have a secular model imposed upon them by the courts," says Hiram Sasser of Liberty Legal Institute, the firm that is defending Pastor Buddy Westbrook.

Just for shits and giggles, let's look at how the Bible says adultery should be dealt with, shall we?

Leviticus 20:10
"And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death."

Great idea. Let's go back to stoning people or burning them at the stake. Couldn't let a secular model be imposed on Bible-inspired justice, right?

Man Bites Dog

2004-12-14T13:33:00.000-06:00

No, really. And now he's facing felony animal cruelty charges.

Edwards Now Only 269 Electoral Votes Away

2004-12-14T10:27:00.000-06:00

Looks like a MN electoral college member cast a vote for Edwards, going against the popular vote.

Edwards only needs 269 more electoral votes to win.

Let's see how Ohio turns out.

[/sarcasm]

"Welcome to Moe's! --God"

2004-12-14T10:10:00.000-06:00

Oh, for fuck's sake! Who cares?!

Just goes to show you how god can "talk" to anybody and nobody can really challenge the borderline schizophrenia of the religious masses.

Aaah, Maybe I Was A Little Harsh

2004-12-09T20:38:00.000-06:00

(regarding Intellectual Honesty thread below)

I put a high price on objectivity. I like for people to get their giggles however they see fit (whilst not harming others, mind you) If they hurt themselves they're just stupid but it isn't my problem. I like for people to mind their own goddamn business when something doesn't affect them (and by affect them I mean physically). I like for people to use common sense when they make decisions.

I understand not everybody's like that. People have long-held biases and beliefs they would never dream of discarding. I've just got it in my head I need to get rid of mine if I want to be able to view situations objectively and live in harmony with my fellow man.

I just hate nothing worse than when someone accuses me of being hypocritical, so I've tried to devise a set of standards, simple as they may be, that I apply to everything. It works for me, and the longer I do it, the less I grit my teeth when I notice someone doing or saying something I find distasteful.

Intellectual Honesty

2004-12-09T17:15:00.000-06:00

I try and look at our freedoms in this country in an objective manner. I usually think the answer to problems is less government, enforcement of existing laws (and repealing a great many unneeded ones), and tough noogies to people that aren't smart enough to survive the trials of life the rest of us have.

There have been several threads and concepts posted over at Cam Edwards concerning banning certain things or practices in the public interest:

First, we have the idea of banning firearms, banning certain kinds of firearms, etc. Most people that know me know my position on this...that none of it is going to do any good. You can't legislate people into morality, and you can't stop someone who has it in their head they're going to harm someone else. Banning firearms will only take guns away from law-abiding citizens and criminals don't obtain their guns by legal means, nor do they care how many laws they're breaking in the commission of their violent acts. There are plenty of laws already on the books that a)adequately punish criminals, and b)give sufficient legal recourse to the victims. Most people I know in the blogosphere agree with this point of view.

**********

Secondly, we have this story about OU banning alcohol on their campus dorms and fraternities because of several incidents regarding underage drinking. This goes right along with the gun-banner methodology in my mind. Why ban something just because a minority of people can't be responsible? Why not let the students choose how they want to spend their time? Aren't there enough laws on the books already to punish underage drinkers? Isn't freedom supposed to be messy?

It just means more students will have to go off-campus to go party, logically resulting in more drunk driving accidents. At least if students could drink in their own dorm or frat or could walk to the party they wouldn't feel the need to get behind the wheel and compound the problem. They're going to do it anyways, that's just part of (most peoples') college experience at one point or another.

Decisions like this aren't going to eradicate the problem of binge drinking, underage drinking, or people being dumb enough to mix other drugs with alcohol. It's a feel-good policy for the parents and school administrators so they can think they did something.

**********

Then, we have this story about an official in Pennsylvania wanting to ban kids from movies after 7 PM. I think you can see where I'm going with this...more utter stupidity. How often does this occur?...often enough to ban all children from the movies after 7? Are we to ban all parents from bringing their kids to the movies because of a few irresponsible parents who won't remove their children when they're unruly? Is there not sufficient recourse available to the offended moviegoer in the form of asking management for their admission back because of a less-than-pleasant experience?

**********

TO SUM IT ALL UP:

These are not apples, oranges, and bannanas issues. They're one and the same. Posters (and blog authors) who are on one side of one issue completely change their minds when it comes to something they find apalling, annoying, distasteful, etc. It's akin to wanting to regulate pornography on the Internet but screaming for your own 1st Amendment rights otherwise. Or banning smoking (and soon no drinking, dancing, or talking) in bars when people have the choice to frequent that establishment or not. We have to tolerate that which we find distasteful if we want to be able to enjoy that which we find acceptable. How about a little intellectual honesty, people?

Nerk said it best in Cam's OU thread, so I won't try and inadequately re-hash it:

----------
"There are certain laws that are designed to protect society and then there are certain laws that are designed to protect people from themselves. Some laws prohibit things that are universally viewed as "bad" such as murder or rape (I'm sure you've heard the term malum in se), and there are laws that prohibit things because the occurrence of the prohibited action cannot occur in civilized society, such as speeding, littering, etc. (malum prohibitum).

The distinction is that laws designed to protect society are necessary for several reasons such as the possibility of being a deterrent, an avenue for prosecution when the law is broken so that violators can be fined and/or imprisoned (punishment), a way to stop the violators from doing it again (prevention - if they're in prison, they don't kill anybody else), and the sense of "justice" that society needs (retribution).

On the other hand, laws designed to protect you from yourself are largely less effective at preventing the prohibited behavior. If you're going to kill yourself, is a law against suicide really that effective at anything? Deterrent? No. Punishment? No. Prevention? No. Retribution? No."
----------

It's simple. Either you're on the side of freedom or you aren't. All of these above threads concern more nanny-state bullshit laws or policies because somebody gets annoyed and says, "There should be a law!!"

BlogShares

2004-12-09T14:16:00.000-06:00

BlogShares is a fantasy stock market for weblogs. Players get to invest a fictional $500, and blogs are valued by inbound links.

Go check it out and see what your blog is "worth".

Mine ain't so good. :)

Death Of A Gifted Axe-Man

2004-12-09T11:48:00.000-06:00

"Dimebag" Darrell of Pantera and Damageplan fame, was murdered during a show in Ohio last night.

(part of this is from a post at packing.org...hat tip to poster "toddm")

Regarding the shooter, how come that Ohio law against carrying in places that dispense alcohol didn't stop him and protect the patrons of that establishment?

Duh, Because criminals don't obey the laws, that's why.

I wonder how many other laws this guy broke during his criminal act. If we only had a law against murder this would have been prevented...oh wait.

The main point is that it took a law-abiding armed individual, a police officer in this particular instance, to stop this tragedy. If maybe some of his backstage bodyguards had been armed this criminal attack could have been put to an end much sooner possibly saving lives.

Sometimes more guns ARE the answer.

For all you non-chemistry majors like me...

2004-12-09T10:52:00.000-06:00

Here's a short refresher course from Duke University's chemistry department covering the Miller/Urey experiment that produced amino acids (essential to life) with nothing but gasses and an electrical charge.

Who says life could in no way evolve over billions of years? :)

If it's this easy to start producing the building blocks of life (and there have been asteroids land here that contained them, some of which we've never seen on Earth), then what happens when (::frowns:: I know, IF) we find life on Mars or elsewhere? How does that affect religious faith? Will we see a great exodus from many religious institutions in the wake of such a discovery?

Might be the best thing that ever happened to us. Imagine what we could do, how much more productive we could be, if we weren't tied up arguing over whose imaginary friend was the most powerful.

What Makes The US A Christian Nation (not really)

2004-12-06T09:24:00.000-06:00

This article is a great piece of evidence that the US was not built on Christianity. A worthwile read.

Don't Rule Out Life On Mars

2004-12-03T13:11:00.000-06:00

The answer is still up for grabs. But Dr. Jeffrey Kargel of the US Geological Survey said in his recent article in Science Magazine that we can't be too sure it does not exist there merely because of the unhospitable landscape. Life exists in some of the (what we think to be) most uninhabitable places here on Earth. If life does in fact exist in microbial form, the returning Mars rover Opportunity needs to be treated with special care. Terrestrial contamination of Mars, resulting from Opportunity carrying microbes there with it is one problem, a Mars microbe we know nothing of set loose here is quite another. It has been established (without much fanfare) that water at one time existed on Mars and some still exists there in frozen form. Methane gas has also been detected, suggesting methane-producing microbes could be present.

I won't hold my breath, but I'll be eagerly awaiting Opportunity's return.

Landover Baptist's Deacon Fred's 60-Second Sermons

2004-12-03T09:35:00.000-06:00

Homer, you'll get a kick out of these. Ultra-fundamentalist Christian quickie sermons. I think these are fabricated...nobody could really believe stuff this fucked up.

You need Real Player to play these audio clips.

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex

2004-12-02T14:32:00.000-06:00

Scroll to the bottom of the page, then under Promos click on the picture to download the Third Promo.

(It's a 3 MB .mov file, so you need Quicktime 6 or higher to view it.)

*****
(Text of promo video)

"I never think of the future, it comes soon enough." --Albert Einstein

(spoken)
"In the future, the difference between man and machine has become academic. Existence is defined by thought, and being human has become a liability. The legendary cyberpunk classic finally comes to television in an all-new original series: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The future is now."
*****

I am a Japanese animation (or simply "anime") FREAK...commonly known in the fan arena by the Japanese moniker "otaku" (oh-TAH-koo). This is one of those Adult Swim promos that gives me the shivers all over. I downloaded it and have watched it over and over like a spider monkey on methamphetamines. Adult Swim, the Cartoon Network's late-night anime run, shows new episodes of GITS:SAC every Saturday night at 12:30 AM Eastern and rerun it the following Thursday in the same time slot, IIRC.

I love the premise this series is based on. Wouldn't it be cool to be a part of the first generation to never die? To go on living and learning, testing the limits of information and experience that can be stored in the brain? Testing the limits of our technology?

Bring on the robotics and techno music! Let's colonize space! Push forward into the future!!

Honestly I can't wait.

Car Tells Driver To Do Freeway U-turn

2004-12-02T14:08:00.000-06:00

...and the worst part was he listened.

A 78-year old man in France busts a U-ey in the middle of the friggin' freeway because his car told him to. He was using a GPS device that used verbal directions. At least nobody got seriously hurt.

Is it an ordinary case of elderly senility, or is it a symptom of our reliance on technology to the point that we start letting the machines do our thinking for us?

Analysis: Study Shows U.S. Losing Drug War

2004-12-02T14:01:00.000-06:00

25 years of criminalizing Americans. 25 Billion dollars. And an ongoing supply-side attack on drugs has yielded nothing but FALLING street drug prices.

Give up. Quit wasting taxpayers' money on something that will never materialize. Spend that money on treatment for people who actually NEED it...and I'd wager a good many poor bastards who're rotting away in prison don't need drug rehab.

Should we start throwing alcoholics in jail? Oh, wait, we did that during Prohibition and got a huge organized crime infrastructure in exchange. Do people just not pay attention in history class?

Boy Burned In Vicious Attack

2004-11-30T09:24:00.001-06:00

Ok, the quick-and-dirty:

An 11-year-old boy walking by a group of older guys (aged 16-20) smoking cigarettes comments on how they're just trying to look tough and are only killing themselves by smoking. The older guys knock him a good one and put a cigarette out on his stomach.

What a bunch of asshats...putting a cigarette out on an 11-year-old CHILD just because he said something that had the ring of truth and they didn't want to hear it? I hope they are caught and punished accordingly.

However, people like the guys who used this kid as an ashtray DO exist. People who blow things out of proportion. Drunks at bars you avoid eye contact with because you know they're just looking to ruff somebody up who they think looked at them funny. Sometimes you can't even pick them out of a crowd. Maybe this kid wasn't old enough to be aware of these sorts of people, or maybe he's one of those who've grown up sheltered and think that free speech (does that exist in Australia?) is a license to be a smart alec to people twice your size (and almost twice your age) without repercussions.

I dunno, but I bet he learned a valuable lesson. Keep your mouth shut. Don't smart off to tough guys. They had no right to do what they did in a legal sense, but that doesn't mean they aren't going to do it anyways. With miscreants of the caliber he came in contact with, he's lucky he didn't get beat to death. Likely, there is no law enforcement following you around on your CarbonMonoxide Crusade, so isn't this a case of you deserve what you get when you go making inflamatory statements to tough guys when you could have just gone on your merry way and not said anything?

It'd be like me strolling through the ghetto at O-Dark-Thirty AM screaming about how I hate folks darker than khaki [which by the way is patently untrue]. Legal, but stupid. And really stupid if I think I won't get the crap beat out of me for it.

Where Is The Madman Who'll Take Us To Mars?

2004-11-22T15:18:00.000-06:00

Great article by Ray Bradbury detailing how we've grown complacent about space travel. For real space junkies only. :)

Gulag To Be Turned Into Holiday Camp

2004-11-22T13:41:00.000-06:00

**********
A PROPOSAL to turn a former communist gulag island off the Croatian coast into a tourist camp drew protests from an independent group which is investigating crimes committed by the communist Yugoslav regime.

"It is unacceptable that a tragic place of execution like Goli Otok, where Tito's Yugoslav communist regime killed over 30,000 political prisoners, will be used in future as a tourist destination," the Center for Investigation of Communist Crimes said in a statement.

A study recently ordered by the government envisaged "hard-labour holidays" on Goli Otok, a rocky and inhospitable island that was virtually abandoned following the dismantlement of a detention camp there as the Yugoslav federation crumbled in the late 1980s.

The aim would be for guests to survive long enough to receive a certificate at the end of the 'holiday' proving they had done their time.
**********

GREAT IDEA!! Why don't we turn the barbed wire pens into petting zoos for children? Why don't we turn the incenerators at Auschwitz into tanning beds? Maybe we could have a scavenger hunt for various types of human remains in mass gravesites!

Principal Takes Whipping For Troubled Kids

2004-11-22T13:31:00.000-06:00

Hat tip to The Raving Atheist on this one.

Here's the quick and dirty: A principal of an Alaskan Christian school, Steve Unfreid, catches two male students kissing girls in a locker room for the second time in a week. He figures the way to keep from expelling the students as per the school's policy is to keep it quiet and take the punishment on himself. He and another teacher take the boys into the school's basement and Unfreid takes off his belt, gives it to the other teacher, and tells her to punish him like she would her own kids. The boys "learned their lesson" but Unfreid brings it up in Bible class, resulting in the word getting out about the incident and the school board fired him. Big surprise.

Man, some people are just that fucked up, I guess.

SpaceCadetZoom...

2004-11-15T16:45:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately, I've gotta sell the Prelude. I knew you'd grieve with me so I had to mention it.

On a positive note, I'm buying a Toyota Tacoma 4WD pickup. I can haul stuff and ride Jeep trails with my buddies a lot easier with that vehicle. :)

Diaper-Clad Man Fools Healthcare Workers

2004-11-11T11:21:00.000-06:00

What a sick bastard. I mean, I'm all for people engaging in whatever twisted fetishes they have in the privacy of their own homes, but there's a very clear line when you start pulling people in who aren't willing participants. ::shivers:: Ugh... If somebody ever tried to pull one over on my wife (she's a RN), he'd have a long hospital stay ahead of him but he'd have a hard time fondling the nurses with grotesquely mangled arms and hands.

Lives Changed By Snuff Film

2004-11-11T10:51:00.000-06:00

I understand Christians wanting to celebrate "Jesus' triumph over sin," but why celebrate his death in such gory detail? Maybe all of us ARE really that warped.

Walking Made Difficult By Attached Ball & Chain

2004-11-10T08:49:00.000-06:00

So I got married last weekend. I've had enough "family time" to last me the rest of my life. Things should be getting back to normal for me soon. In all this mess, I think I'm going to have to drop one of my classes, but oh well, there's always next semester. More to come...maybe I'll actually have something interesting to say in the coming week. :)

The Media Matrix

2004-10-26T11:24:00.000-05:00

I'll start off by saying I don't agree with this article on several points. That said, it makes a compelling argument that we're all programmed, not original, not individuals. We're fed what we are supposed to believe and think by not only our parents' upbringing, but every day we are blasted with programming by the media. Kupelian's argument is that we have neglected to have faith in our creator and thus have fallen prey to such programming.

This is a great article (long though it is). I don't see where god has anything to do with it, but the argument Kupelian makes is somewhat convincing. Maybe it's because the Matrix has my mind in a vice. I dunno. Anyways, this is worth reading to get a differing perspective on things. I'll snip the part about religion below:

1. "Everyone has heard a little bit about mass manipulation, mind control, brainwashing, suggestion, hypnosis and Pavlovian conditioning – the scary stuff of far-off communist operatives, religious cults and movie thrillers like "The Manchurian Candidate." It pops up in the news now and then, as when the Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped and brainwashed Patricia ("I am Tanya") Hearst, or more recently in "Stockholm Syndrome" cases, where terrified hostages come to sympathize, and in some cases actually fall in love, with the very terrorists threatening their lives.

Nevertheless, we're never quite sure how much of this mind-control stuff is objectively real, and how much is just psychobabble or science fiction. Right?

Let me help you out here. It's not only real – it's the fabric of our lives.

To demonstrate the real-life matrix programming we consider our reality, let's momentarily set aside the news media and focus on one of the most stunning and audacious real-life matrix programs currently running. I'm referring to what we call "evolution."

In the days prior to the evolution matrix program – that is, from the beginning of human life until Darwin came along in the mid-19th century – human beings would step outside their homes and survey with their eyes and minds the wonders of nature. They'd see majestic 400-year-old redwood trees, hummingbirds that were able to hover, and honeybees that somehow knew how to do a special figure-eight dance that would communicate to all of the other worker bees the precise location of the dancer's newly discovered nectar source.

Looking in every direction, we humans beheld not only fantastic complexity, diversity and order, but also the supreme intelligence behind creation, as brashly evident as the noonday sun.

This ubiquitous natural wonderland caused man to acknowledge and honor the Creator of creation, as Copernicus did when he wrote, "[The world] has been built for us by the Best and Most Orderly Workman of all." Or as Galileo wrote, "God is known ... by Nature in His works and by doctrine in His revealed word." Or as Pasteur confessed, "The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator." Or Isaac Newton: "When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance."

Did not happen by chance?

Ever since Darwin and his successors succeeded in loading the evolution matrix program on mankind – a fantastic theory for which there is no proof, and many serious problems – when we now walk outside and look at the created universe, what do many of us see? Chance!

Although our eyes survey the same wonders of God's creation that inspired faith in our predecessors, in our minds today we see only the meaningless result of millions of years of random, chance mutation. That's what our minds "see" – the eternal dance of purposeless recombination of ever-more-complex forms, but all without meaning, without spirit, without love. And by direct implication we also "see" that man is not a fallen being needful of God's saving grace, but merely the cleverest, most evolved animal of all. Since evolution by definition always results in improvement and advancement, man and all of his violent and lustful and selfish drives are perfectly normal and natural and … advanced. There is no good and evil, no Heaven and Hell – and man, as a highly evolved monkey, has no sin and no guilt – as these are logical impossibilities from the evolutionary point of view."

Kupelian delves into abortion, the Arab-Israeli conflict, John Kerry's image, and 9/11 conspiracy theory in the same article (I told you it was a small novel!). Even if you don't agree with it, it makes an interesting read from somebody who's obviously on the far Right.

Maher: 'I'm spreading the anti-gospel'

2004-10-25T09:18:00.000-05:00

"That's one of the things that really bugs me about religion. If you don't know the answer, just say, 'I don't know.' Don't make up stories and make people believe them, and then work backwards in everything in life from the dumb little story you made up, you know? We don't know. Be a good person just because it's the right thing to do. How 'bout that?"

"I believed all this stuff when I was young," Maher begins, smiling wryly. "I believed there was a virgin birth, I believed a man lived inside of a whale, and I believed that the Earth was 5,000 years old. But then something very important happened to me -- I graduated sixth grade."

"It's kind of cruel, I realize," he says of that last punch line, momentarily cringing. "It kind of sticks the knife in and makes people feel. ... But you know what? At a certain point, I just lost patience with the faithful and pretending, pretending that this was something that was OK, to retain childish thought patterns into adulthood."

I'm not usually that enamored with Bill Maher because of his politics, but he's got his head screwed on straight on the subject of religion. Tell 'em, Bill.

Alaska Measure Would Treat Pot Like Alcohol

2004-10-22T13:13:00.000-05:00

As well it should be. Good for you, Alaska. I hope it goes better than the Nevada initiative that got put in the circular file a few years ago. If legalization isn't going to happen, SEVERE decriminalization should take place nationwide. It's no more harmful than alcohol and should be treated the same way, not to mention the plethora of medical uses that have been found through studies in the past 30 years.

Alaska, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Are we there yet?

2004-10-20T16:25:00.000-05:00

I love watching the tightrope the political pundits are walking. It's a balancing act between:

A) Highlighting news stories that show your candidate is in the lead (positive reinforcement to your target audience, but not enough to make them complacent about voting on Election Day).

and

B) Highlighting news stories that show your candidate is losing (negative points to rally the troops without discouraging them).

Just an observation I thought was funny.

Quibble over Creationist Book on the Grand Canyon

2004-10-19T10:29:00.000-05:00

How fucking stupid. Some crackpot author has "evidence" the Grand Canyon was created in Noah's flood, some thousands of years ago. Nevermind the fact geologists have concluded the Grand Canyon is MILLIONS of years old.

"The Grand Canyon was formed millions of years ago," said William Ausich, president of the Paleontological Society, according to Religion News Service. "It is the job of the National Park Service to present the best scientific information possible to the public, and the book is complete pseudoscience."

"Ruch, in representing public-employee geologists, says they are "outraged and humiliated" that the book is still in park stores.

"They see it as tantamount to having creationist texts in public schools," he said, saying selling the book at the Grand Canyon is no different than approving a book claiming Yellowstone's geysers are the work of Satan."

I'll reiterate: How dumb do you have to be?

Why should we care about the lazy idiot vote?

2004-10-15T08:59:00.000-05:00

This is a great article I found on www.opinionjournal.com, which is the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page. It highly criticizes voter registration drives geared towards younger voters that generally know dick about what's going on except what MTV tells them. Worth reading twice.

It Only Took 5 Minutes...

2004-10-13T08:56:00.000-05:00

of listening to National Public Radio to make me sick to my stomach. The topic was the death penalty for juvenile murderers. I'm not talking about the "I accidentally ran over a guy with my car" criminals, I'm talking about the "I tied an old lady up and threw her off a bridge" criminals (which is the specific example used in the news story). I don't get why this is so difficult for people to understand. They're COLD-BLOODED KILLERS, regardless of how "developed" or "mature" they are. I think we're totally screwing with natural laws if we DON'T eliminate them from society. Moreover, since they should never be let out of prison, why not get rid of them. Do you keep moldy pastrami sandwiches in your refrigerator because of a sentimental attachment?

It's like this: You have a dog. The dog goes apeshit one day and nearly bites somebody's arm off for no apparent reason. What conclusions can you come to?

1. The dog has some sort of behavioral/biological/neurological problem.
2. The dog doesn't realize that biting someone's arm off is inappropriate behavior.
3. The dog now has a history of biting people without provocation and will likely do it again (given probability and a normal life span).

So what do you do?

Any conscientious dog owner would have him put to sleep. Any responsible owners would do it themselves. Period. You can't have a loose cannon for a dog out in society, even if it's just your own society (your family, friends, etc.). It's dangerous and pointless to keep a dog that had the potential (and has shown its resolve to do so on one occasion already) to tear someone's arm off without provocation.

Why can't we apply this simple, natural logic to humans? Ok, let me backtrack...I'm not a tree-hugging Save-the-Spotted-Owl nutso animal rights ecoterrorist. I don't think humans on the same level as dogs. We rightfully hold dominion over animals. However, all humans are smart animals with opposable thumbs. That's it. We should live by the same natural laws. I see Darwinian "survival of the fittest" theory being scoffed at and threats to regular, law-abiding people being let back out into society only to kill again. Over 50% (can't find the link to the stat article) of violent offenders in prison make their way back there within a few years. Why should we believe a 15 or 16 year old would be any different? Do we really believe as a society that if they haven't learned what is right and wrong and what the consequences of killing someone are by then that we can teach it to them in the prison system, under the guise of "rehabilitation"? What a fuggin' crock.

By my reckoning, these teenagers have already shown the resolve (and many the remorselessness) to kill someone without provocation. We have a DUTY to the rest of society to make sure it never happens again, and what's the best way to do that?...eliminate the threat.

/rant off

It's like Ron White says in his comedy bit: [something to the effect of] "Here in Texas, if you kill somebody, we will kill you back."

And that's all I have to say about that. :)

Movin' On Up...

2004-10-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

Well, my fiancee and I finally got moved into our house. I'm exhausted, as I've been working hard to get us moved over the last few days. I couldn't have done it without my buddies and my family. It's amazing how much stuff we've accumulated over the years. I got my TV and Internet hooked back up today, thank goodness. I hate going unplugged for too long. I'm getting donations of furniture from family as well. Now I just have to buy a bed, hehe. Unfortunately my efforts in one area have put me behind in others...namely SLEEP and HOMEWORK. I'm going to try and get caught up and get back to regular blogging soon. Best wishes to all my electronic friends!

Al-Sadr Militia Pumping Up With Drugs

2004-10-05T16:23:00.000-05:00

Awesome. If we can let these Al-Sadr fighters get hooked on amphetamines, in short order we'll be able to put down any resistance. Have you ever known a tweeker? Manic-depressive, irrational, jumpy, fidgety, impulsive, and generally disagreeable people on the whole. It's not somebody you'd LIKE to be fighting, but being cracked-out like that has got to open the floodgates for mistakes in resistance operations, and that's all we need them to do--slip up--and it's over. Look at how easily the British trounced the Chinese in the Opium Wars. It's hard to keep an army going when all they're concerned about is getting daily allowances of drugs.

Polygamy Laws Expose Our Own Hypocrisy

2004-10-05T16:18:00.000-05:00

Jonathan Turley has got it right. I'm going to keep this short and sweet: What business is it of anyone's how someone else chooses to associate with other people?

This is a textbook example of an issue everybody needs to mind their own goddamn business about. Principle is more important than anyone's personal beliefs.

Man Mistakes Wife for Monkey, Shoots Her.

2004-09-23T10:09:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize monkeys in that part of the world wore clothes or used ladders. I guess I'm not as culturally aware as I thought.

It's an awful way for this man to learn "Identify your target."

Links, links, links...

2004-09-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

If you like The Onion, a HILARIOUS news parody site, and you're into religious idiocy in the same vein, check out The Holy Observer. I just stumbled across it today, linked from The Raving Atheist, a great read-it-daily blog.

The Holy Observer's Church Sign of the Month from Apulia United Methodist Church said "Going to church won't save your soul! But hey, it can't hurt."

Ughh....

This Old House

2004-09-17T10:56:00.000-05:00

The house my fiancee and I are buying is way older than we thought. We did the title work at my office and from what we can tell it was built in 1912. How cool is that? We're excited. Now all we have to do is wait...

3 cheers for the LEAA !!!

2004-09-16T14:19:00.000-05:00

Here I am eating crow again. I made too swift a judgement on the Law Enforcement Alliance of America a couple of weeks ago on Cam Edwards' show on NRA News. Here's a statement from them regarding the sunset of the Clinton Gun Ban (AWB):

US Newswire

"Gun control is has nothing to do with crime control, and that's why the expiration of this law will have no impact on public safety," said James J. Fotis, LEAA Executive Director.

Good on ya, Mr. Fotis. Keep up the good fight.

One for you, Steve.

2004-09-16T09:25:00.000-05:00

Two Bush dissenters were arrested recently only for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts.

They weren't heckling anybody or resisting arrest. They just wore t-shirts somebody didn't like. They're in a different crowd from those that heckle speakers in the middle of their speeches. Those a-holes deserve to get thrown out. These folks didn't. Nobody can be totally insulated from dissent.

Dan Rather, memos, and the Good Book

2004-09-15T22:34:00.000-05:00

Since I've entered the blogosphere, I've met some of the most interesting and intelligent people of my life. I've re-examined my own political beliefs and feel like I'm finally getting a well-rounded take on current events. It's great. Hooray for the Internet!

Most of you know about the Dan Rather story and how he's still touting obviously forged documents about Bush's ANG service. 90% of the people I've talked to think these documents are forged and part of a political ploy (origin unknown). With absolutely no supporting evidence or confirmation of the source, Rather just keeps on dogmatically defending them. Multiple forensic document experts have reached a consensus that they are either obvious fakes or their authenticity could never be determined and should probably be ignored. I'm glad to see everyone thinking rationally.

What I DON'T get is why people can't apply this same fact and logic-driven thought to the rest of their lives...specifically religion. God, to me, is a concept that was somewhat useful when we were in the Dark Ages and made up crap to explain the unexplainable. Just a few years ago superstitious thought was actually taken seriously:

----------
From IslandNet:

It's bad luck to walk under a ladder. This came from the early Christian belief that a leaning ladder formed a triangle with the wall and ground. You must never violate the Holy Trinity by walking through a triangle, lest you be considered in league with the devil. (And you all know what good Christians did to people they suspected of being in league with the devil.)

Beware of Friday the Thirteenth. Those who know about these things, inform us that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday, Noah's flood started on a Friday, and Christ was crucified on a Friday. Christians also noted that twelve witches plus one devil are present at Satanic ceremonies so Friday and 13 make a deadly combination.

Black cats are evil. In ancient Egypt, the Goddess Bast, was a black female cat. Christian priests wanted to wipe out all traces of other religions so convinced their ignorant followers to destroy the evil demons that were black cats. While they were at it, they destroyed the kindly little old ladies who cared for the cats believing them to be witches.
----------

Does anybody actually BELIEVE this crap? I know some of us do things like throwing spilled salt over our left shoulders into the face of the Devil out of habit; learned behaviors from our parents, but most people don't actually BELIEVE it does them any good.

I want to hasten the demise of religion because it's childish thinking as far as I'm concerned. No religion has any credible evidence that miracles were preformed or that events occured like their "divinely inspired authors" said. Most other people's individual miracles can be attributed to chance or the unremarkable power of people to change themselves. Do people actually think some scribe went around recording everything Jesus said? Don't you think more than a little creative license was used throughout the years to "quote" him? Isn't it conceivable that many concepts he supposedly espoused were actually written by priests for their own benefit?

Religion has ever been a tool of control over the masses. Peasants that could never expect to improve their lives here on earth were encouraged to build up treasures in the afterlife. Nice job, priests, quiet them down and tell them bedtime stories of streets of gold and mansions in Paradise. Not only that, but 99% of the time religious dogma was negative, more along the lines of fire and brimstone to frighten the people into compliance. People are afraid to die, afraid of what (doubtfully) will await them. Nobody wants to accept the obvious conclusion that nothing happens when you die, you just die. People would be a lot harder to control if they knew this was the only life they'll get.

I challenge you intellectuals out there to consider these points:

Do you really need a god to tell you what's right and wrong?

Do you adhere to religious doctrine because you actually believe what they're saying, or because you fear what might happen if you DON'T?

What credible evidence can you produce that things were written as they were actually stated, or forensic evidence that events actually occured as written?

We'd have so much more time to improve our own situations and advance the human race into the stars as it is intended if we weren't so hung up on childish thinking. We'd cast off the noose that mildly schizophrenic religious leaders have had around our collective necks for centuries. How much more could we improve our economy, help the less fortunate, and further our own creative interests if all that money being funneled into churches WASN'T. It seems so wasteful to me.

In conclusion, I think god's memos (the bible) are just as incredible as this drivel Dan Rather is spewing. Why won't people be intellectually honest enough to come to the same conclusion? Don't tell me "oh, the Old Testament's inaccuracies are superceded by the love of Jesus" or "the message is the important part, not line-by-line analysis". What a crock. If people are dedicating their lives to such a religious doctrine, you should either believe it all the way or not do it at all. We'd be better off if there were fewer religious people in this world.

Things are starting to come together...

2004-09-10T15:26:00.000-05:00

So here's a bit of an update. We found a 60-year old house in town somewheres that's in really good shape. Somebody's already done a lot of the gruntwork like putting on a new roof, new A/C unit, new appliances, and some new paint. Things still left to be done would be to re-tile the bathroom, rip up a couple of rooms' worth of carpet (to show the awesome hardwood floors underneath!), rip out some wallpaper, and repaint pretty much the entire inside of the house. I'm a handyman in training, and like anything else in life, I've figured out you can learn stuff as you go along. We're putting a bid in on it today and will have a long nail-biting weekend to wonder if they'll accept. We figure about 10K worth of work will get us 30K more in resale in about 5 years. I wouldn't consider myself a gambling man, so this is all new territory for me. We'll see if it's in the tea leaves when resale time comes.

Aside from that, the wedding planning is starting to ramp up, and the Missus had a powwow with a wedding planner person she used to go to church with some time ago. We've still got tons of work to do in that arena, and little time to do it. The real trouble is going to be finding someone who will do a "secular" wedding here in the Bible Belt. LOL, I'm not holding my breath on that.

School's going well. I'm keeping up with my classes and having a pretty easy time doing so. Since most of them are online, it just takes discipline on my part. Anyways, gotta run as I have a test to take today before the testing center closes at 5. Hopefully I'll be back to blogging something small every day again soon. Stay safe, everybody.

Going away for a while...

2004-08-31T10:28:00.000-05:00

I took a look at all I need to be doing between now and Christmas break when this semester will be done at A&M:

1. Find a house, negotiate, and buy.
2. Move all our stuff.
3. Plan a wedding.
4. Get married.
5. Go on Honeymoon.
6. Keep working 40 hrs/wk.
7. Keep up with assignments, projects, and papers in class.

The only way this is all getting done is if I buckle down and get ahead in my classes; Put my nose to the grindstone and don't let up. That's going to cut down my free time I was spending blogging, but I'll try and chime in every couple of days anyhow.

To be honest, I'm not mortified at the long list. I've gotten to the point in my life where I don't worry about being grossly incompetent about the world, I figure nothing's going to come my way that I can't handle. Besides, if there's something I don't know, I just ask the Robot. The Robot knows everything. :) The other 2/3 of the equation are hard work and determination, and I've got the market cornered on those. Wish me luck.

HR 218 -- Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act

2004-08-26T09:29:00.000-05:00

I made a remark to Cam Edwards & Co on NRA News the other day when someone from the Law Enforcement Alliance of America was a guest that I thought I'd clarify with a post here on my blog:

I'll start by saying police do a valuable service. They get the bad guys off the street, keep law and order, pursue fleeing criminals, storm into places of illegal activity that I wouldn't dare go, and generally deal with human filth day-in-day-out. I don't dispute that in our revolving-door criminal justice system, a criminal that is arrested on Monday might be out of jail on Tuesday with an axe to grind with his arresting officer. I believe police officers have just as much right as anybody else to defend themselves and their families against violent crime. It's a dangerous job, and I'm glad somebody is doing it.

When it comes to violent crime, though, police are more historians and detectives; trying to determine what has happened and who is responsible AFTER THE FACT. The rank-and-file police officers support the concealed carry movement that is sweeping the nation state by state because they know that they're not always there to protect citizens when their lives are in danger, nor can 95% of people afford their own private security. When was the last time you called 911 DURING a car accident? Situations where a person may have to defend his or her own life happen quickly, and home invasions in the middle of the night already put the resident at a great disadvantage, even if (s)he is armed: waking up from a dead sleep to realize (hopefully not too late) that someone who wishes to do them harm is ALREADY IN THEIR HOUSE. The police response time to such incidents, whether they be on the street or at a private residence, are several minutes even in the best circumstances. That's too long when an armed person is threatening your life or the lives of your loved ones RIGHT THEN.

However, the police aren't always our friends. It's common for police officers to know little or nothing about firearms laws in their state, due to poor training. It is also common for the police chiefs in urban areas (and some not) as well as the Fraternal Order of Police to be decidedly AGAINST the peoples' individual right to keep and bear arms and concealed carry. They've come out for renewing the Clinton Gun Ban, and the FOP's local state chapter opposed Missouri's recent Right-to-Carry legislation.

To boot, police aren't obligated to protect YOU individually. Warren v. District of Columbia is one of the leading cases of this type. Two women were upstairs in a townhouse when they heard their roommate, a third woman, being attacked downstairs by intruders. They phoned the police several times and were assured that officers were on the way. After about 30 minutes, when their roommate's screams had stopped, they assumed the police had finally arrived. When the two women went downstairs they saw that in fact the police never came, but the intruders were still there. As the Warren court graphically states in the opinion: "For the next fourteen hours the women were held captive, raped, robbed, beaten, forced to commit sexual acts upon each other, and made to submit to the sexual demands of their attackers." The highest D.C. court ruled the "fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen."

So what's all this hubbub about?, you're asking. It's pretty simple to me. I believe that police would be needed much less, and an overgrown governmental bureaucracy could be drastically reduced if people would arm themselves and take care of business rather than using the SNiVeL method.

Furthermore, I know for a fact that off-duty and retired police officers were able to protect themselves just fine before HR 218 came into existence...they could apply for carry permits just the same as us "civilians" [a term they frequently use to refer to we lowly subjects. Anybody who is not active military is a civilian, bub, and that includes you]. Hell, some states give discounts to retired police, judges, etc. when applying. I understand there are a few states that do not issue carry permits at all, but was CREATING A SEPARATE CLASS OF CITIZENS NATIONALLY the way to go about it? Were the police too lazy to work with other concerned citizens to enact this sort of legislation at the state level? I think granting off-duty and retired police rights the rest of us citizens don't have is scary at the very least, and unconstitutional at the very worst. There was a reason that in the formative years of our nation, police officers were seen as no less than a standing army. With the recent years' push towards gun registration and outright confiscation, it's an awfully terrifying prospect.

Methinks the top brass are in it for themselves, and now that they have carry rights nationwide we're going to lose what little support we were getting from them to begin with. Why is it most organizations or groups will gladly grow stronger at the expense of the American people?

The GOP and gay unions

2004-08-26T09:05:00.000-05:00

"The GOP's full platform committee, seeking to appease party members who support gay or abortion rights without embracing their positions, adopted language later that states Republicans "respect and accept" dissenting views.

'We are the party of the open door,' said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who led platform deliberations on social issues."

---

"Party of the open door" my ass. If the Republicans continue with this catering to the Christian Right the way they do, they're going to start losing voters left and right in this new age of science and reason. They need to broaden their target voters and bring in those conservatives and swing voters that take little or no interest in theology. What are (most) Christians going to do, anyways? Switch parties? Doubtful. Don't "try to put lipstick on the pig" as Christopher Barron said.

Teacher to class: 'F--- God'

2004-08-26T08:54:00.000-05:00

Before anybody gets their panties in a wad, let me say I'm appalled at this professor's choice of words and impropriety. The sheer ballsyness of the professor's statement got an initial laugh, but even as an atheist I have limits.

There are a myriad of other avenues in which to question the beliefs of a student in the interest of class discussion. This was just plain wrong. It wasn't logical or brought about through rational thinking, it was profanity and insult. Very unprofessional.

Paris Celebrates Liberation

2004-08-25T16:56:00.000-05:00

Funny thing is, they hardly mentioned the Americans at all...just to say that the 4th American Infantry Division was there at the liberation party. No mention of how the French practically threw up their arms at the sight of the Nazis or how thousands of our men died storming the beaches and fighting in the forests to give them their country back. It ought to be "Kiss America's Ass Day".

Vengence is mine, sayeth the Lord

2004-08-25T10:37:00.000-05:00

Well so much for a loving, caring God. Anybody who thinks this war in Iraq or the trouble in Israel has anything less than a strong religious base is a fool. It's a continuation of the crusades from the standpoint of the Muslims over there, and you can't tell me the US support of Israel is just because they're the underdog in a war between terrorists. Here's a collection of quotes to chew on from the Quran and the Christian Bible:

The Old Testament

Punishment for sin:
• So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the Earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the Earth.” Genesis 6:13

• So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt — worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.” Exodus 11:4-6

• The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God. 1 Chronicles 13:10

References to violence:
• The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the man of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he replied, “No,” they said, “All right, say ‘Shibboleth.’” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time. Judges 12:4-6

• When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day — all the people of Ai. Joshua 8:24-25

• If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. Deuteronomy 13:6-9

The New Testament

Punishment for sin:
• And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8

References to violence:
• I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the Earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beast of the Earth. Revelation 6:8

The Quran

Punishment for sin:
• (As for) those who disbelieve in Our communications, We shall make them enter fire; so oft as their skins are thoroughly burned, We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise. 4:56

• (Some) faces on that day shall be downcast, Laboring, toiling, Entering into burning fire, Made to drink from a boiling spring. They shall have no food but of thorns, Which will neither fatten nor avail against hunger. 88:2-7

• On the day when it shall be heated in the fire of hell, then their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded with it; this is what you hoarded up for yourselves, therefore taste what you hoarded. 9:35

References to violence:
• Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace, and assist you against them and heal the hearts of a believing people. 9:14

• And how many a town that We destroyed, so Our punishment came to it by night or while they slept at midday. Yet their cry, when Our punishment came to them, was nothing but that they said: Surely we were unjust. 7:4-5

It's just damned silly.

Hoplophobic pant-wetters

2004-08-24T14:01:00.000-05:00

If you suffer from low blood pressure, just check out this mindless, pant-wetting rant on liberalforum about the sunset of the Clinton Gun Ban. Why is it people refuse to listen to reason?

"...for wee must Consider that wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill..."

2004-08-24T13:29:00.000-05:00

It would be so exciting to own my own town, GIVE all the (law-abiding) residents guns and firearms training, call it New Freeland, and tell people to get off my land (ever watched Mr. Show?).

A Skeptical Approach

2004-08-24T12:06:00.000-05:00

Great site that builds a fairly convincing case against Christianity. Not for the faint of heart.

This will get a permanent link as soon as I learn HTML. ^_^

Don't bother me while I'm taking a dump.

2004-08-24T11:30:00.000-05:00

A New Orleans man is cretidted with thwarting an attempted robbery at a Wal-Mart while on the "throne". Lucky bastard, IMHO.

Democrats primary donors to 527s

2004-08-24T10:38:00.000-05:00

How interesting. The Kerry camp continually chides the Bush administration for having rich fat-cat contributors and its association with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. WorldNetDaily reports that of the top 25 contributors to 527s, only 2 of them are giving to GOP interests.

"Broken down by amount, it means 24 high rollers gave $56,193,000 to left-leaning groups, while two donors gave $1,520,000 to Republican groups."

Chew on that awhile.

Barbecue Sauce Nazis

2004-08-23T13:05:00.000-05:00

You know, it's a shame after 60 years politicians are still exchanging Hitler insults. I thought I might have heard the end of it after Moveon.org's ad and Bush's (oh, I never meant THAT!) ads that mixed in a little Hitler footage in case anybody forgot...enter that murdering bastard Kim Jong-il. Even the Koreans are jumping on the Hitler bandwagon these days: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3589766.stm.

Sorry, fellas...Hitler is so...well, so last century. Get your marketing people to get something more edgy, you know, to suck the kids in. Hitler just isn't doing it for me anymore. It happens when you run something into the ground like that. How about we reserve calling someone a fascist murdering bastard for the real fascist murdering bastards, not the drive-thru clerk who tells you extra dipping sauce will cost you extra.

Latest in Najaf

2004-08-23T09:21:00.000-05:00

I know the US is supposed to be morally superior to the insurgents we're fighting in Iraq. If that includes not bombing a building into the Stone Age where a known insurgent is hiding in his cowardice just because we're afraid of insulting somebody's imaginary friend in the sky, then I don't care one whit about being morally superior. Bottom line, we've lost our tactical advantage. We've let Al-Sadr slip away in the night and who knows if we'll be able to pin him down again like that in the future. I don't care if the people over there think it's a magic building or not...right now it's being used as a military fortification filled with enemy combatants, and we need to treat it as such. Do you think if things were the other way around they would hesitate to blow up a Christian church just because world opinion of them would suffer? I doubt it. If the insurgents are so pissed off because of the "foreign occupation" then join the democratic process we've started there already and turn it into whatever kind of religious fundamentalist "democracy" (cough, cough) you want after we leave. It's going to happen anyways. You're just slowing up the process of the US getting out.

Sue Me

2004-08-23T08:46:00.000-05:00

From WorldNetDaily

The Kerry campaign is threatening to sue television stations that are running the new ad by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and Regnery Books, the publisher for the SBVFT's book, Unfit for Command.

You have to be friggin kidding me.

If you can't take the heat, Senator, get out of the kitchen. In case you've been asleep for the last 6 months, Bush had to contend with Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and didn't resort to whining and threatening legal action...give it a rest and maybe just shut up (like Bush did) if you're not going to address the accusations directly. You don't have to, if that's your prerogative.

Tom Ridge to Ted Kennedy: Have your people call my people

2004-08-20T15:07:00.000-05:00

From SFGate.com

Somehow Drunken Master Ted Kennedy got on the secret government "no-fly" list and isn't pleased about it. Cry me a river, Teddy, just don't drive your car off into it.

Crack Haiku

2004-08-20T14:11:00.000-05:00

My buddy sent me this link--someone has way too much time on their hands...

It's no wonder...

2004-08-20T11:33:00.000-05:00

we can't have rational political debate in this country any more. Here's just one example of the rabid speech coming out of some liberals' mouths these days.

Cipel's Show

2004-08-20T10:43:00.000-05:00

Why is everybody so hung up on sexual orientation? If McGreevy wants to have gay sex in his off-time, then I don't think it's anybody else's concern except his wife's. He spoke up promptly and that, at least, is to be respected. It's more than Clinton did, arguing over the definition of "is". He's also probably doing the right thing keeping quiet what with the extortion charges still pending and all.

Why are the Republicans making such a big deal about when he'll actually step down? Do they really think that a special election will yield a Republican governor when McGreevy's polls have gone UP since the scandal broke? More moralistic posturing from the Right, in my opinion. If he's stepping down just because he's gay, or because he got nailed for an extramarital affair, then shame on him. If you love the cock, just say so, McGreevy, get on with it, and shut the hell up.

What makes me laugh is that Cipel is saying he's not gay. Could have fooled me!

Quit yer whinin' !...

2004-08-20T09:55:00.000-05:00

From WorldNetDaily

Kerry's campaign is requesting that Regnery publishing withdraw from distribution the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth's new book Unfit for Command as it contains falsehoods and blatant smear against Senator Kerry's war record.

Give me a break. If we can all tolerate Farenheit 9/11, then we can tolerate a book by SBVFT that not near as many people will read. F 9/11 was a much more available media to the American public. I don't think Unfit for Command is going to make that big a splash.

All The President's Spin

2004-08-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

I've never read a "current events"-style political book, but I think I'm going to read this one. I caught Ben Fritz on The Daily Show the other night and he made quite an impression. He basically praised the Bush administration for being so meticulously clever with how they present what's going on and deal with crises. He was very dispassionate and seemed to focus on the psychological aspects of the PR facet that have worked so well. It looks more tolerable than the obvious propaganda like in Farenheit 9/11. I'd call it a tactics study.

By my figuring there's about a nickel's worth of difference between 95% of the politicians that have made it far enough up the food chain to be in national elections. Don't get me wrong, some are better than others, and there are honest and passionate civil servants at all levels...just the higher up you go, the more you compromise your ideals and engage in the political back-scratching.

I think it'll be an interesting read. I'll chime in again when I finish it.

Japanese Consipracy Theory

2004-08-19T16:17:00.000-05:00

Ok, I might as well start off with my lame-brained conspiracy theory about Japan.

As many of you might not know, Mobile Suit Gundam is a televised Japanese anime series that was aired in 1979. The idea of Mobile Suit came from the powered suit of Starship Troopers, a novel by Robert Anson Heinlein (my all-time favorite author). The original Mobile Suit Gundam takes place during the One-Year War in the year Universal Century 0079 (U.C. 0079). During this time period humans live in orbiting space colonies called Sides. The ruler of Side 3 declares war against the earth for the independence of the colonies. The story is about a crew of Earth Federation Space Forces on a space ship called White Base that fight against the Principality of Zeon using human shaped weapons called Mobile Suits. The crew of White Base fight Zeon using an advanced Mobile Suit called Gundam, that is more powerful than any weapon that Zeons have previously produced. In the process, the Gundam's pilot, Amuro Ray, and the other draftees are exposed to the harsh conditions of war, participate in many brutal battles, and experience the tragic trials and consequences of the conflict. (from wordiq.com)

Given that the people of Japan have been bombarded with the concept of Mobile Suits as future military hardware for the last 35 years, it's no wonder that the Gundam Pilot Academy was started in 2002...

2-22-02---- First Mobile Suit Pilot Training Simulator From Mistubishi - Banpresto - Sotsu Agency
From Newtype Asylum:
February 22, 2002: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan), in asscoication with Banpresto and Sotsu Agency, has produced Gundam Pilot Academy (tentative title) - the demonstrative version of the first ever mobile suit pilot training simulator in history, which is currently on exhibit and free testing for customers at "The AOU 2002 Amusement Exposition" (International Exhibition Hall 2 "General Zone") from February 22-23, 2002 at the Makuhari Mess, Chiba City, Chiba, Japan. The training simulator - with simulates the cockpit of RX-78 Gundam during the classic 'Jaburo Invasion' as shown in Gundam 0079 animation series - has a maximum of four players capacity, in which the MS piloting and shooting will be handled by the two front row players, and all four players will experience the training inside the simulator, which is equipped with 100 inches big screen image with picture generating equipment powered by high-speed processor, and the 24-bit digital sound source for high quality stereo surround sound; Each pilot's seat can experience the training fully in front, rear, left, right, plus shakeing up and down with maximum acceleration of 0.5G, all courtesy of a 6-axis electric motion base which are used in actual operation simulator for airplane.

And then only a few months later, Mitsubishi made it back in the Japanese news by The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) granting Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. a prime government contract; developing the H-IIA Standard Type Launch Vehicle:

NASDA

Hence my name: Mobile Suit Pilot X

I know this is old news but it's a "theory" I've held for a while now. Anybody else see a pattern developing here? It's a lot of dots to connect. :) I'd move to Japan if it weren't for their complete ban on private ownership of firearms. At any rate, Go spacenoids! ^_^